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The TechCrunch Crypto conference on Thursday saw Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder, and CEO of Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, come out and say that “India is not viable for crypto”.
“To be honest, I don’t think India is a very crypto-friendly environment”, he stated while hinting at the high tax imposed on cryptocurrency trades in India. Is he true to think that?
India and Cryptocurrency: An Uncomfortable Relationship
When the word “crypto” first started capturing the imagination of the tech-savvy Indian-urban youth, it was akin to a second coming. People around the country have always looked for financial freedom, and since cryptocurrency offered it, most young people embraced it.
However, that’s when contentions started to emerge between the Indian government and the cryptocurrency trading markets. Most high-level political leaders and government officials that hold power in the Reserve Bank of India have rallied against it, and unsubtly so.
From the Prime Minister’s calls that “cryptocurrency is damaging to the youth.” to many RBI officials calling the entire crypto concept a “Ponzi Scheme,” the sentiments about crypto in India’s regulatory system are that of animosity.
However, that is not to say that the country is completely against the underlying technology that powers the crypto ecosystem: blockchain. Everyone in the government has admired its wonders and understands the need to make it mainstream.
However, the discord of ideas, where on one side, there is hate against cryptocurrencies, and on the other side, there is love for the blockchain, has led the country to make some really weird decisions when it comes to crypto trades.
In the Financial budget 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman stated that crypto trading must be made illegal and put a massive 30% tax on crypto earnings. The government decided to deter the trade of these speculative assets in India; it was a success. India, which, according to Fortune magazine, has the second-largest community of crypto investors, saw a 70% decline in crypto trades from that point forward.
A 1% Tax on Every Transaction Will Reduce the Number of Transactions
Weighing on the tax element in India, CZ Binance said, “If you are going to tax 1 percent on each transaction, there is not going to be that many transactions.”
Zhao further said that such a taxation model encroaches on the profits of the traders, leading to lower volume. “So, we don’t see a viable business in India today. We just have to wait.”, he continued.
The Binance boss has said he is in talks with industry leaders in India to push a good, logical narrative about crypto trades.
Changping Zhao has been quite vocal about the hate the Indian government has shown toward the crypto industry. Aiming at the “draconian” tax regime on crypto, Zhao said the government could “kill the industry” in the nation.
Indian Crypto Industries are Looking For Growth Overseas
In light of the taxation, some Indian crypto industry members have relocated to more tax-amiable nations in order to grow their businesses. They include ZebPay, and WazirX, with much more thinking of taking the same approach.
However, the Indian policy approach to crush the crypto market is a move that seems right to many crypto critics who are up in arms about the crypto assets after the latest FTX debacle.
FTX-Triggered Second Market Crash Emboldens Crypto Critics
“Cryptocurrency is a scam.”, a user on LinkedIn said, “and the FTX debacle just proves it that crypto bros are ready to lap up everything that the crypto industry provides”. While this eschewed view about cryptocurrency might look abhorrent, recent events have proven that we need to be careful.
The arrival of FTX led many YouTubers that focused on financial investments to rally with it. Coffeezilla, a popular YouTuber who has made a career debunking investment scams, recently dragged the name of every investment-focused YouTube channel that FTX sponsored through the mud for pushing their viewers to hold their token in FTX.
Not that FTX’s implosion has resulted in investors losing nearly $3.1 billion worth of funds. While the withdrawal process is underway, experts say it might take months or years to recover.
Needless to say, the market’s recovery has taken a major hit after the FTX-triggered crash, Bitcoin has struggled to break $17k, and Ethereum is headed back to its $1.1k level.
Better Investment Decisions are the Key
The crypto industry is definitely not a scam, but many open elements to it make it vulnerable to such fraudulent affairs. The FTX debacle has shown that now is the time to go by logic rather than sentiment, but the volatility of the crypto market makes it difficult. Thankfully, tools like Dash 2 Trade have been introduced that put emotions out of the equation when making investment decisions.
Dash 2 Trade is a top-notch crypto analytics platform that allows traders access to the catalysts that move the crypto market. It features tools for the social analysis of cryptocurrency projects and on-chain analysis, to name a few, to help investors get a bird-view of the market before investing.
The native crypto of this platform, D2T, is now on presale and has raised upwards of $6.6 million in its third stage. You can buy it now at a discount price of $0.0513 before the token enters the fourth stage, and the cost of this presale token increases to $0.0533.
Dash 2 Trade presents a unique case within this crypto ecosystem with its analytical tools. Who knows? Perhaps, it can act as a herald of crypto investments in India.
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